Please do *not* tell me I am dreaming & forgetting my dreams!! I know for a fact that I rarely get any REM sleep if at all. Read on for details!!

Here’s some background on my personal experience with sleep:

1. I never wake up rested. At all. Except.. [see #4]
2. No matter how interested I am in my college class material or whatever else I’m doing, I get tired & sleepy, then I doze in & out of naps right where I sit. This happens in the morning & afternoon alike, sometimes even in the evening.
3. When I remember a dream, I wake up drenched in sweat. It can be the most calming & relaxing dream imaginable & I still wake up drenched.
4. Only when I remember a dream & wake up drenched do I feel even slightly rested. This happens maybe once a month.
5. It often takes me 30-60 min to fall asleep, unless I am dead tired already. It doesn’t matter how much or how little I think or let my mind wander, I can’t fall asleep. To be honest, 30-45 min is a blessing for me b/c even just 2 yrs ago, it took me 1-2 hrs *every* night without fail.

I know that I get practically NO REM sleep at all in 99% of my nights b/c:
1. I only feel rested perhaps once or twice a month.
2. I only remember a dream or wake up drenched in sweat once or twice a month.
3. I only feel rested when I have memory of a dream *and* wake up drenched.
.:. Therefore, by inductive reasoning, I feel it is safe to assume that the rest of the time, I either do not dream at all or experience utterly useless REM.
If I experience any REM at all, then I must not go into the deeper sleep beyond REM, where a lot of restful sleep takes place.

So my question is:
What can I do to increase my chances of dreaming restful REM & deep sleep on at least a semi-regular basis? My life is suffering due to lack of rest!!!!!
EDIT; Forgot to mention that I am seriously considering the possibility that I have a sleeping disorder (the 1st answer said something similar before I got a chance to add this. I’ll research hypersomnia, thanks). Anyone else have any other ideas on what it could be or where I could start looking?

I also want to add that the chance of it being a mental/mood disorder is pretty slim. It would have been a factor even just 1.5 yrs ago, but these days, I’m strong, pretty happy, & mentally healthy.
EDIT:
Oh & another thing. Does sleeping on your back, side, or stomach have any effect on REM? I may have heard once that it has an effect.

I find it much much harder to fall asleep on my back & a little harder on my side. So I never fall asleep laying face-up & I usually lay on my stomach rather than my side.

Technorati Tags: amp, class material, deep sleep, dreams, memory of a dream, naps, personal experience, rem sleep, restful sleep, sleep, sleeping disorder, sweat

ok im writing a book, and the main character gets informed that she has a sleeping disorder. but i cant name the sleep disorder at the moment, so basically what im asking is:
Is there a such a sleep disease that you can have that when you sleep, you have nightmares, which causes you to have sleepless nights??? and if so what is the name of this sleep disease, please and thank you!!

Technorati Tags: google, nightmares, sleep, sleep disorder, sleeping disorder, sleepless nights, writing a book

I am curious to know if it’s possible to develop a sleeping disorder such as insomnia by staying awake and/or changing of sleeping habits and schedules to very few hours if any.

Technorati Tags: google, Insomnia, sleeping disorder, sleeping habits

I went to two separate doctors. One gave me sleeping pills for a ‘sleeping disorder.’
"Insomnia?" I asked to clarify, but he told me, No sleeping disorder.

So.. whats the difference?
*I went to two separate doctors but neither clarified.

Technorati Tags: doctors, google, Insomnia, sleeping disorder, sleeping pills

ok so i have a horrible time getting to sleep at night. i’ll go to bed at like 12 and not actually fall asleep till 4am or 5am. i have a terrible cough at night, and only at night. i wake up kinda early for when i go to sleep. i wake up around 9am or 10am most days. i’m kinda irritable during the day but i’m really not tired at all during the day despite my lack of sleep.

some people think it’s insomnia, others think it’s a sleeping disorder.
thoughts? answers? anything would be helpful.
thanks.

Technorati Tags: 4am, 9am, cough, google, horrible time, Insomnia, lack of sleep, sleep, sleeping disorder

What is that sleeping disorder Matt, the father, had on Little People, Big World (the episode is called A Matter of Matt’s Health / In Too Deep) … And where can I get more information about it? Thanks a lot!

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what is the most unusual sleeping disorder that you know the more unusual the better.. i need to know the symptoms and how this sleeping disorder is treated

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Ever since fourth grade, i’ve had a lot of trouble falling asleep. Now, I’ll flickon the lights for hours, listen to the raadio, read a book ot watch TV until four in the morning. Until around then, I can’t fall asleep. And this is a regular thing now. And when I finally do fall asleep, I wake up at 1 in the afternoon. This cutting into fun, my activities and my friends. what should I do to help it stop? But more importantly, is this a sleeping disorder?

Technorati Tags: fourth grade, google, raadio, sleeping disorder

my friend has a sleeping disorder and she needs help, is there anything you can recommend (please no drugs, pills or medicine)
she’s not very good at keeping down that stuff if you know what I mean.

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I’m just surprised at this..A good friend of ours died a couple weeks ago and the autopsy results came back and it was because of a sleeping disorder. If you know anybody that might have a sleeping disorder, make sure they go to the doctor. I don’t expect an answer, I just wanted to let you know that.

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What if you can’t fall asleep before 4AM and this is how it’s been your entire life?

Is it possible that this is the result of something else?

Is it possible that if you had a sleeping disorder since you were younger that it will never change?

Technorati Tags: 4am, google, sleeping disorder

Okay, whenever I go to sleep, every single night, it’s like I go into a temporary coma or something. I sleep extremely hard and no matter what noise goes off I can’t wake up unless someone comes in and shakes me awake. I’m not sure if this is a sleeping disorder or not but it has come to my attention that that is a possibility and I was just wondering what you all thought.

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I just returned home from college and i have been having a hard time sleeping at night. Ill go to bed a like 10 and wake up at 3 not be tired but fall back asleep, then wake up at like 5 and not be tired and it takes me a long time to fall asleep. Do i have a sleeping disorder? I do NOT want to go on sleeping pills because i was dependent on them a few years ago and it took a long time to get off them and be able to sleep on my own.

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When I go to sleep, it usually takes a while for me to fall asleep because I think a lot. Lots of things go through my mind when I close my eyes and try to fall asleep. I think about school, family, etc., stuff like that. It’s hard to stop thinking because I’m constantly talking to myself in my mind. I’ve tried relaxing and blanking my mind, but only worked a couple of times. When I’m really tired or sleepy I have no problem falling asleep. You think I have a sleeping disorder? Got any resolutions?

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When I got to bed at night I can’t sleep. I sleep and I wake up for no reason. I’m not excited or anything. Whenever it’s night, I’m terrified sleeping in my own room. It’s like I’m afriad of the night. What causes sleeping disorder? Do I have like trauma from the past? Do I have to take philosophy or certain classes to get rid of this problem?

Technorati Tags: google, philosophy, sleep, sleeping disorder, trauma